Chelsea players have reportedly changed their minds about the club’s separation from Mauricio Pochettino, after many initially disagreed with the mutual decision. Pochettino’s departure would have been unpleasant in the dressing room, however, Chelsea’s stars are now preparing to welcome the new boss. Enzo Maresca.
Through it all, the Blues have clicked under the top in recent months, squandering just one of their last 15 Premier League games and completing the crusade with five straight wins.
They sealed a sixth-place finish, a Europa League position before Manchester United’s FA Cup win demoted them to the Conference League.
And that late push made Pochettino’s departure a real prodigy away from home and, apparently, in the dressing room.
The Guardian claimed that Chelsea players were surprised by the development, convinced that the Argentine is leading his young team in the right direction.
A fifth departure from the Clearlake-Boehly regime’s control team would have provoked disbelief and disapproval from the team of players, who strongly supported Pochettino.
There were fears that the final results of negotiations with sporting co-administrators Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley and co-owner Behdad Eghbali would make Chelsea one again.
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However, new reports suggest that there has been some pivot among the players following Maresca Pochettino’s likely successor.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have reached an agreement to appoint Maresca as their new head coach on a five-year contract, plus a further 12 months.
Leicester City will get around £10m in pay for the Italians after securing an instant return to the Premier League by propelling Ipswich Town to the league title.
And CaughtOffside reports that Chelsea’s players are excited about the prospect of racing with him next season, as they built momentum at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
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It is added that Maresca’s 4-3-3 is also believed to favour the team’s characteristics ahead of their first window of plays in charge.
The 44-year-old represents a difficult appointment, following the negative reactions to Pochettino’s departure.
His brief spell as Leicester manager was his only full season as senior head coach. He also controlled Parma in 2021, but only lasted a few months before the Serie B side sacked him.
However, Pep Guardiola brought Maresca into his Manchester City training in 2022, which is a promising endorsement of his qualities.
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